Why are $20k loudspeakers so expensive?

Here is a short video that should give pause to those who have asked that question with the confident skepticism of someone who has never tried to actually make a pair themselves. This person has made his own pair of B&W 800 Diamond loudspeakers. Has he succeeded? We will never know, but it sure looks most impressive.

In practice, he has restricted himself to making his own set of elaborate cabinets, as it looks as though he has bought all the drive units from B&W. But even so, the overwhelming impression is of the expensive resources he has had to bring to bear to realize the project. OK, he has done the grunt work himself, but the project has clearly taken a HUGE amount of time and effort. Aside from some initial consternation, I imagine that the executives at B&W are having a good chuckle over it.

Presumably his motivation was purely the satisfaction of creating his own work of art. Think about it. How much money can he possibly have saved by doing it himself? Do you think you could do it yourself for less, without sacrificing at least some of the core design objectives?

Whatever, as I contemplate my own B&W 802 Diamonds, I am sure glad I bought mine!